Movies like The Doors (1991)
The best movies like The Doors (1991) are To Write Love on Her Arms (2015), Suburbia (1984) and Crossroads (1986). If The Doors hooked you with its music and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTrainspotting (1996)8.0/10 from 10,832 votes
- NewestBaby Udon (2026)Released 2026
To Write Love on Her Arms (2015)
The story follows 19-year-old Renee who has always loved fairy tales: the idea of a princess, a hero and a happily ever after. But Renee’s life is that of a darker tale: she’s a young woman battling addiction, depression and self-injury. In a creative blend of artistic fantasy balanced with harsh reality, the movie follows Renee on her courageous journey towards recovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrossroads (1986)
A wanna-be blues guitar virtuoso seeks a long-lost song by legendary musician, Robert Johnson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHustle & Flow (2005)
With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisQuadrophenia (1979)
Based on the 1973 rock opera album of the same name by The Who, this is the story of 60s teenager Jimmy. At work he slaves in a dead-end job. While after, he shops for tailored suits and rides his scooter as part of the London Mod scene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWild Style (1982)
Legendary New York graffiti artist Lee Quinones plays the part of Zoro, the city's hottest and most elusive graffiti writer. The actual story of the movie concerns the tension between Zoro's passion for his art and his personal life, particularly his strained relationship with fellow artist Rose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrainspotting (1996)
Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRequiem for a Dream (2000)
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPerformance. (1970)
In underworld terms, Chas Devlin is a 'performer,' a gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. Turner is a reclusive rock superstar. When Chas and Turner meet, their worlds collide—and the impact is both exotic and explosive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn on the Fourth of July (1989)
Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCherry (2021)
Cherry drifts from college dropout to army medic in Iraq—anchored only by his one true love, Emily. But after returning from the war with PTSD, his life spirals into drugs and crime as he struggles to find his place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEl Gringo (2012)
A man crossing into Mexico with a satchel of $2,000,000—and a bloody past—finds himself under sudden attack in the sleepy town of El Fronteras.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCoffy (1973)
After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Express (1978)
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of a country. The courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStuart: A Life Backwards (2007)
Story about the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlonde (2022)
From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, this reimagined fictional portrait of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDrugstore Cowboy (1989)
Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRomper Stomper (1992)
Nazi skinheads in Melbourne take out their anger on local Vietnamese, who are seen as threatening racial purity. Finally the Vietnamese have had enough and confront the skinheads in an all-out confrontation, sending the skinheads running. A woman who is prone to epileptic seizures joins the skins' merry band, and helps them on their run from justice, but is her affliction also a sign of impurity?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost Highway (1997)
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this24 Hour Party People (2002)
Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrighton (2026)
Brighton is a delightful short film capturing the joy of family, travel, and living in the moment. Sanjay, a funny and vibrant personality, decides to take his sisters, Kirshma and Rita, on a memorable trip to Brighton, a lively seaside resort in the United Kingdom. Traveling from Aldershot, the trio embarks on their adventure, filled with laughter, conversations, and excitement. Once in Brighton, they immerse themselves in the fun-filled atmosphere, exploring the iconic beachfront, enjoying the lively promenade, and creating memories they'll cherish forever. Set against the backdrop of Brighton's rich history, dating back to the Bronze Age and Roman times, the film reflects on the beauty of life's journey. It serves as a reminder to savor every moment, as life is an endless adventure waiting to be enjoyed. Brighton is a heartwarming story about family bonds, the joy of exploration, and the timeless charm of one of England's most beloved seaside destinations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
American Splendor (2003)
An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMary Queen of Scots (2018)
In 1561, Mary Stuart, widow of the King of France, returns to Scotland, reclaims her rightful throne and menaces the future of Queen Elizabeth I as ruler of England, because she has a legitimate claim to the English throne. Betrayals, rebellions, conspiracies and their own life choices imperil both Queens. They experience the bitter cost of power, until their tragic fate is finally fulfilled.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBaby Udon (2026)
Fanny Kondoh, a young Indonesian woman, falls in love with Hajime Kondoh, a Japanese man who comes to Indonesia for work. After getting married, Fanny and Hajime begin building a life together, embracing both its joys and challenges. As they struggle to fulfill their dream of having a child, they are faced with one heartbreaking trial after another, testing the strength of their love, especially when Hajime is diagnosed with cancer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dandelions (1974)
Rick (Rutger Hauer), a disaffected sailor turned hard drinking womanizer, returns home from six months at sea to find his wife (Corrigan), whom he was deeply in love, has unexpectedly left him and is now a junkie whore. Devastated, he tries to ease his pain with booze and cheap thrills. His wife's best friend (Dagmar Lassander) makes a move on him, and when he spurns her (after scewing her first, naturally) she plots her revenge. She does so in an ingenious way, by exploiting a fantasy woman of his, but her plan backfires with tragic consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet - The Videos (1987)
Slippery When Wet: The Videos features all the videos from Bon Jovi's breakthrough third album, Slippery When Wet, together with interviews and backstage footage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Holdovers (2023)
A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisText Messages from the Universe (2019)
A film that immerses its audience in subjective states of consciousness they might experience when they die, imagining what they can see and think and hear in a seamless but fragmentary flow of poetic images, words and music. The viewer undertakes a journey into their own interior world of dreams and projections in which time and space, and cause and effect logic, are turned on their heads. Text Messages from the Universe is inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a text which guides souls on their journey of 49 days through the 'Bardo', or intermediate state, between dying and rebirth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Dark World (1953)
Based on the real life story, the director turned his camera towards the real world of Âşık Veysel, the great poet who wandered around the Anatolian villages.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Doors and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Doors?
The closest matches to The Doors are To Write Love on Her Arms (2015), Suburbia (1984) and Crossroads (1986). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Doors?
Start with To Write Love on Her Arms (2015), the closest match to The Doors.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Doors?
Trainspotting (1996), rated 8.0/10 by 10,832 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Doors?
Baby Udon (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Doors?
Yes: To Write Love on Her Arms (2015), Suburbia (1984) and Crossroads (1986).
How are movies similar to The Doors chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Doors, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.